Get On With It - Hilson
by Rini2012
Summary: House needs to figure out if Wilson is in love with him. He's had his suspicions over the years, and House knows he feels more than just friendly feelings, so how will his experiment go?
1. Chapter 1 - Base Pulse

Dr. James Wilson had a rather… _undesirable_ past with romantic relationships. It wasn't anyone else's fault but his own if he was honest. He didn't exactly have a good track record with female staff at the hospital… or women in general. His best friend happened to also be a world-renowned diagnostic doctor by the name of Dr. Greg House. But underneath the façade of his accomplishments, there was a miserable man who was addicted to Vicodin to end his pain from the nearly fatal blood clot in his leg. Add that with being an asshole, not trusting anything anyone says, reading a stranger like a book, and acting like the rules don't apply to him, and you have one of the best doctors, yet one of the worst people, in the world.

And somehow, Wilson had fallen for him.

It wasn't something out of the blue. They had met at a conference a while ago, but Wilson got insanely drunk and started a bar fight. Because of it, Wilson had broken a mirror, and when they returned, the oncologist found out that there were charges against him. Granted, Wilson's first impression was that House was an asshole with a big ego and he was mad about the bar fight, yet there was something about him that seemed… unique. After a few weeks talking and hanging out, the two were inseparable. They would watch Monster Truck marathons while drinking beer, House would grill him for his choices in women, Wilson would help out if there was a case involving cancer. It was great.

At first, House merely saw Wilson as a means to an end. It was clear that he was on a fast track to become the head of the oncology department, but he was also easy to deceive. A few social experiments here, a bit of teasing there, and Wilson had proven his usefulness to House. The oncologist often referred to himself as House's 'conscience', tried to stop him from making outrageous decisions, was the 'knight in shining armor' type, and got involved with the wrong women on too many occasions.

And somehow, House had fallen for him.

Now, he knew the guy had problems with romance, House had even been Wilson's best man at the wedding both of his wives, but somehow sentiment had clawed his way into his heart concerning the younger man. Wilson had even been the best man at House's wedding to Stacy, had been there with him through the first year after his leg surgery, and somehow maintained playing 'the good guy' throughout it.

Maybe it was having a positive person in his life, or maybe it was Wilson being practically the only friend he had, House didn't know the reason for his attraction anymore. He just knew that he wouldn't let it ruin his friendship.

Those years of friendship lead to Wilson being separated from his second wife, sleeping on the couch in House's apartment, and in the same day being thrown out simply because of his morning routine. He hated that he had to move out as soon as he had moved in, but it was House's home, so it was House's rules of who stayed and who didn't (even if it was for selfish reasons). Problem was the apartment owner never got back to him, so he was forced to stay a few more days with House.

Maybe this could be a new start for him. He could find a place to live in on his own, and avoid dating for a while. It could be nice… if it wasn't always the women who decided he was theirs, and not the other way around. It was a cycle ever since college: he'd ask a girl to hang out with no romantic intentions, after a few times they'd ask him on a date, and the last two times that happened, they ended up getting married, then divorced. How did he always get sucked into that? It was torture! These thoughts haunted him as he fell asleep on the somewhat uncomfortable couch.

House, meanwhile, was waiting in his bedroom for Wilson to fall asleep. He had decided that this second divorce was an opportunity for him to find out something important: was Wilson in the closet and secretly in love with him? He had his suspicions over the years from things like how far House could push the boundaries, to straight up covering for him when he did something possibly illegal… also a few looks here and there… basically the image of unrequited, secret love.

Now this wasn't a one-way street. For years now, House actually did feel strongly for Wilson. One could argue that House was even _in love_ with Wilson (they'd be right), but there was never really an opportunity to confess these feelings to the oncologist. When the first Wilson wife left and the new one showed up, House hadn't really thought anything of it at first. They were best friends, nothing more. A few years after that, House married Stacy, and they had a pretty decent relationship... before the muscle myopathy.

While Stacy was busy smoking cigarettes into the vents to ease the pain, House would think about what he was doing with his life. He loved Stacy, he really did, but there was just something not quite right in their relationship. It was never fulfilling in a way that would last the rest of their lives, and neither of them were really fully committed anymore.

When he finally figured out what it was, he had no idea what to do with the information... he was in love with his best friend.

He couldn't necessarily act on what he figured out. Wilson was a married man, House was also a married man (well, not for much longer), so what would be the point in saying anything? He thought it was better to treasure his friendship for as long as possible instead of messing it up with stupid feelings like this.

At least, that was what he thought until Julie decided to cheat on Wilson and kick him to the curb. House had a sneaking suspicion that there was something more there ever since Wilson showed up at his doorstep. The look on his face was disappointment, anger, but also relief, and even _hope_. To others, that wasn't much to go on, would even argue with the hope part and say it was wishful thinking.

Not House.

To him, these were clear signs that there was something there, but he needed further proof. That was why he needed a base pulse to start an experiment the following day. In order to do this, he needed to wait until Wilson was in REM sleep so that it was as calm as possible, then had to give the sleeping man a scare to wake up and have an excuse to check his pulse during that.

Easy.

At about 1:30 AM, House quietly left his room and went to the couch. Wilson was fast asleep, snoring gently, and his arm was stretched out and hanging over the side of the couch. The perfect setting for the perfect crime. As quietly as his limp would allow, the diagnostician kneeled right by the sleeping doctor's face and checked the pulsepoint at his wrist. It was, of course, slowed down due to the fact that he was asleep, but now he had the base for the lowest possible pulse to go off of.

For a moment, House took in Wilson's sleeping form. His hair was slightly mussed from sleep, the usual lines in his face were almost non existent, and he looked - actually, it was best to stop that train of thought right there before he got all sappy and cliched.

So he forced himself to stand up, stepped back a few feet, and started pretending that he was walking into the living room half asleep. In the process, he whacked Wilson in the arm with his cane.

Immediately, Wilson awoke with a yell and a severe pain in his outstretched arm. When he looked up at the source of the disturbance, he saw House half-awake and startled. It was as if he had no idea what he had done… but the oncologist knew better. House didn't wake up in the middle of the night for no reason.

"What in God's name are you doing!?" Wilson asked.

"I… thought I heard something." House answered tiredly, and added a yawn at the end for effect.

"Heard what?"

"Door opening… moving around… thought it was a burglar."

"Maybe you were dreaming?" Wilson suggested as he sat up and rubbed his arm. "Something realistic enough to think it was real."

"Maybe." _Time to turn on the concern._ "Let me see your arm."

Wilson was a little suspicious, but let House examine his arm anyway. There was no doubt it would bruise by morning, but he usually wore his doctor's coat anyway, so it would be easy to hide. But when House started to palpate around the affected area, Wilson felt his face heat up a bit. They never really touched unless it was necessary (which it rarely was), and just examining the affected area was making Wilson blush like a schoolgirl. He hoped it wasn't showing too much.

It totally was, and House was internally smirking at that fact. He was already doing phase two of his experiment without even meaning to and it was helping his hypothesis along. Just from touching his friend, his pulse was a bit higher than if he was coming down from a fright, which worked just fine for the diagnostician. With a bit of effort to make himself look drowsy, House got up from the couch with a quick 'good night' and headed back to his room to record the information in his head, and calculate what Wilson's base pulse was from the two different pulses he took.


	2. Chapter 2 - Creating Tension

When Wilson woke up the next morning, his arm did indeed start bruising. It wasn't too bad, but it still hurt a bit so he made sure to be gentle on that arm. Even when a few days had passed since that incident, he was still unsure about it. House had never been confused by a dream before since they started living together, so there had to be some underlying cause of it.

House, meanwhile, had decided to give Wilson a few days before he started phase two of his experiment. He didn't want his temporary roommate to think he was up to something if he started all the phases in one day. He would, however, make the other parts of the experiment a slow escalation of stimulus throughout the day. He had the information he needed, and even did a pupil dilation test, so he was ready.

About three days later, House was once again woken up by Wilson's morning routine. He didn't understand how Wilson could wake up so early, but he figured it was a good time to start with phase two of his experiment: levels of lustful stimulus. After he heard the water shut off, he headed to the bathroom fully aware that Wilson would still be naked. When he opened the door, he sure did get what he hoped he'd see… and maybe a bit of forbidden fruit too.

As soon as the door opened, Wilson panicked. He had literally just gotten out of the shower and was still naked. He rushed to cover his more private area with a towel and blushed like a maniac.

"House!" he exclaimed. "Can't you knock first!?"

So his little Jimmy isn't so little… score for me. Was all House could think. He ogled at Wilson's naked and soaking form for a moment, noting that he wasn't exactly muscular but still fit, sparse hair covered his chest, and he was definitely a bit turned on by this if the bit of bulge was any indication.

"Didn't think it'd take you forever to towel off and get some clothes on. Shouldn't you lock the door?"

"You're never up this early so I wouldn't think I'd need to lock it."

"Fair point. Go ahead and do your thing." House said as he shut the door.

Wilson wasn't exactly proud of the fact that he got a softie over House seeing him naked. But if there was one thing he'd learned over the years, it was how to control an erection, especially around attractive men. Problem was that when he was finally dried enough to put his clothes on, he heard some noises from House's room. It sounded like moaning. Was House… masturbating?

House wasn't actually masturbating. He was playing audio from a previous rubbing session where he had fantasized about Wilson so that it seemed more convincing which had moaning, bed rocking, and even a few whispers of Wilson's first name. Usually he kept the sounds at bay, but for the experiment, he needed to let them out for the recording. Any minute now, Wilson would be wanting to see what was going on out of curiosity, only to find that the ensuite door was locked and unintentionally jiggle the door handle.

As soon as he finished that thought, the door handle moved, so House turned off the recording with a loud 'what!?', quickly ran a hand through his hair to make it look messier, skewed his clothing a bit, and limped over to the door. He unlocked and opened it to see Wilson blushing furiously, pupils dilated, and obviously harboring an erection in his pants.

"Do you mind?" House asked impatiently.

"I, uh, didn't know-."

"The moaning and bedrocking wasn't a large enough indicator that I was having private time?"

"You usually wait until I'm gone! I wasn't sure if it was… that or your leg in more pain than usual."

It was a lame excuse, but it was the best Wilson could come up with under pressure. Now he felt even more guilty for trying to sneak a peek at House. He was also confused because House made sure to only do - that - when the oncologist was out. Why would he have to do it now?

"Why didn't you wait until I was gone to do this?" Wilson inquired. "You could've driven to work on your bike."

"I had a rather naughty dream last night, and needed to let out some steam." Right before House shut the door, he threw in, "And seeing you naked wasn't exactly helping."

Wilson was glad that there was now a door between him and House as he knew it was his turn to 'let out some steam'. The difference this time was he stuffed a washcloth in his mouth to muffle the sounds.

House knew exactly what Wilson was about to do if the scurrying of his feet were any indication. Now that actually started to get him going, and he didn't need to use a recording. The next few minutes were filled with manual stimulation from two friends in two different rooms, each thinking of the other.


	3. Chapter 3 - All In

Throughout the rest of the day, House would do small things to see how Wilson would react. Things like a pat on the shoulder, getting into his personal space, whispering things in his ear. Every time he did one of those things, he'd make sure to see how dilated the oncologist's pupils were. Across the board, his pupils were dilated at different levels depending on the stimulus. Obviously, it was working.

Wilson, however, was trying very hard not to think about what happened a few days prior. He felt incredibly guilty about masturbating to the sounds of his best friend, and if he thought about it more, he was sure he'd be spending more time in the bathroom than not. When they were driving to work, he kept his eyes on the road and barely spoke to House. When the diagnostician randomly barged into his office about a case, he'd keep himself calm, cool, and collected.

Today was like any other day for them. They were driving to work, House was making witty remarks, and Wilson was strictly thinking about driving and patients he had to see today. Only ten more minutes until they were at the hospital, then they would part ways (unless House decided to barge in hoping for an epiphany), meet up at lunch, see more patients, then return home. It would be another simple day, and Wilson would make sure of it.

Thing was… House had different plans. The night before, he had gone to the ATM on his block and took $210 out of his account in order to continue with his experiment. There were no cases today for his team to be distracted with, which meant step three of his plan could be executed.

"Alrighty minions," House announced as he entered his office. "I have a real fun one for ya."

His lackies were all sat around the table, looking incredibly bored.

"Who's the patient?" Foreman asked.

"Not a patient." House said as he approached the whiteboard. "It's an experiment that I need your help with."

"What kind of experiment?" Chase asked, clearly suspicious.

"A social experiment to get through the lies," House answered in a mock evil tone. He then picked up a marker and started writing. "The hypothesis is that someone we know is secretly in love with me."

In response to that, Chase and Foreman looked at Cameron.

"Not me! I haven't done anything-."

"Don't flatter yourself, the person in question…" House dramatically moved away from the whiteboard to reveal Project Woo Wilson on the board. "Does not have your genitalia."

Everyone looked confused and/or shocked by what was on the board. No doubt they thought House was crazy for thinking Wilson was in love with him, but when did they not think House was crazy? Or self obsessed?

"You think Wilson is in love with you?" Foreman asked.

House shrugged.

"Pretty obvious, isn't it? He enables me, worries about me, has a dreamy look in his eyes when we talk. All the signs are there."

Foreman merely shook his head.

"Why would we help you with this? There's nothing in it for us." Chase argued.

"Plus it could be degrading for the people involved." Cameron murmured.

"Well, I was prepared for that." House said as he got out a clip of money. "$50 up front for each of you if you help me, and an extra $10 for each task you complete. You could walk out of here $100 richer if you wanted."

House paused and looked at his group, who seemed to be seriously thinking it over.

"Come on! Five simple tasks and then you're free of the experiment. It's a cleaner, legal-er version of prostitution."

However, House hadn't considered Wilson possibly showing up at that moment. As soon as he saw Wilson's shoe in view, he flipped the whiteboard so that the other side was visible. He was not not going to use the whiteboard in this situation. It was too important! He also put the clip of money in his back pocket.

When the oncologist entered, he knew something was off. The team's doctor jackets were on, but there weren't any case files out. Not to mention House was standing at the whiteboard, but there was nothing on it. Maybe he had a chance to give House the case he had.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Oh, just a little pep talk," House said. "The gang here is a bit depressed that we don't have a patient with a mysterious illness."

Wilson merely nodded and went over to House to give him the file.

"25 year old female, complaining of stomach pain, migraines, and-."

"Pregnant."

"What?" Cameron asked.

"She came to you because of a growth in her uterus since the folder is one of yours, and the growth doesn't look like a baby because it's deformed to the point of not actually being a baby anymore, 2 rare conditions in one. She's probably going to miscarry in a day or so, so I'd go tell her that she needs to stop having sex without a condom."

Everyone was silent. House had seen the girl waiting at the clinic a few days prior, and it was obvious that she pregnant but the baby was so deformed that there was no placenta, therefore it looked like a growth on her abdomen. It made sense that she'd be referred to Wilson as she probably wasn't experiencing normal pregnancy symptoms. Wilson looked confused and suspicious.

"I can't tell if you're trying to make me miserable or if that's your diagnosis."

"Diagnosis. Wouldn't want to make my special friend miserable now, would I?"

"'Special friend?'" Chase whispered to Foreman, who in turn shrugged.

Wilson immediately knew what House was referring to and he couldn't control the blush on his face. Thankfully, the team didn't know what they were talking about, so instead he cleared his throat, nodded, and left in a hurry.

They all watched Wilson scurry down the hallway in embarrassment. House could see that they all were starting to catch on from that little exchange, exactly as planned.

"Did you just see that?" Foreman asked.

"He blushed like a schoolgirl." Chase answered.

"Which means you have proof that the experiment could work, and have a higher chance of being paid." House interjected, one again flaunting the money clip. "Every task I assign will directly affect Wilson, so when you complete each one, take note of his pupil dilation, composure, and coloration."

"Why don't you just ask?" Cameron asked, clearly outraged at House's means of getting information.

Couldn't she hold off from the do-gooder act for one day? It really wore on House's nerves, especially in personal situations.

"Because he could lie and say he isn't interested in me, and I wouldn't have proof of his ulterior motives."

"And you'd be having fun." Chase said with an eye roll.

House looked at Chase with mock stunned expression.

"Wow, my Australian minion has learned my ways. Should give you all the money right now for it."

Again, silence as they looked at each other. Foreman looked to be seriously considering it, so was Chase, but Cameron was torn (as usual when it came to morals). Ultimately, he knew they'd agree. It'd cure the boredom they were all experiencing.


	4. Chapter 4 - Team-Building Activites

House was once again in his least favorite spot in the entirety of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital: the clinic. He knew he had to let the team start with their missions and wait for their reports. He also had made sure that each of the tasks were timed and placed in the right places so that he could check on each of his lackies on his way to his office after clinic duty. He had weighed the pros and cons of spending the time doing clinic duty, and there was one major pro and one major con that outweighed the others:

Pro - Cuddy would be easier on him for the big finale experiment, which would include a huge public display.

Con - Cuddy would be suspicious of his ulterior motives if another case didn't come up, and only the universe could bring in another case.

Today, his first few patients merely needed some prescription refills. This woman - clearly late 30s and trying to hide it, having an affair with a younger man - was complaining of pain in her arm. It seemed the new positions she was trying was taking a toll.

"My arm hurts, and pain medication isn't working."

"Well maybe you should lay off on the whipping of your sub for a while. Do something else like lock them in a cage." House quipped.

"How do you know about that!?"

House just stared at her for a moment. He was just joking about the dominatrix thing, he didn't expect to be right.

"You're... actually whipping a sub?"

The woman looked at the window behind her, clearly concerned that someone was listening in. Who the heck would listen in on a possibly disgusting check up? Okay, now that he put it like that, maybe it _would_ be fun to listen in.

"We have patient confidentiality, right? That HIPPA law thing?"

Doctor husband then. Interesting. House decided to play along so he acted surprised that she knew about HIPPA.

"Surprised you know the name of the law. Most know it as 'doctor-patient confidentiality'."

"My husband's a doctor. A pediatrician, actually." Her face dropped and she wrung her hands. "Things just… got so dull lately. He's been working long hours - longer than usual - and I have _needs_."

"Like any human being." House muttered. He hoped she would get to the point soon.

"I met this guy at a coffee shop, and we hit it off right away. First it was just one night, then two nights, now three days a week for the past two months. Two weeks ago… he asked me to try BDSM stuff. Said he wanted to feel controlled for once. Now every time before we get down to business, he has me whip him over and over, but I don't know if my arm can take much more of it."

She obviously hadn't had anyone to talk to about this, and her husband was avoiding her for a reason. He probably was having an affair too. In order to get rid of her quickly, House took out his Vicodin bottle and popped a pill, then handed one to the dominatrix adulterer.

"This should get rid of the pain. Great painkillers, not the over the counter stuff."

She looked apprehensive for a moment, but took the pill anyway. Blind faith in doctors was always dangerous, which proved that she was an idiot.

"The first thing I recommend is that you call your husband's practice to see if he's actually there during one of his long nights." House said as he got up. "Secondly, tell your boy-toy that if he wants BDSM to go to a professional dominatrix instead of depending on you. Take a week off of your… _extracurricular_ activities. It'll help your arm feel better."

And with that, he left the exam room.

Wilson was at the nurse's station checking on his patient's charts. He had a feeling he'd have to go to House for a consult soon for an infection his chemo patient was fighting, but other than that she was progressing just fine. He hadn't expected Cameron to walk up to him though. She looked a bit nervous, so it probably had to do with House.

"Hey." She said.

"Hi."

There was an awkward pause, then Cameron asked,

"Are you and House dating?"

That came out of nowhere, and the oncologist knew he looked anxious. What the hell had brought that on?

"What?"

Cameron sighed and lowered her voice.

"There's a rumor going around that you and House started dating after you moved into his place."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And House isn't talking about it, so I figured I'd ask you."

There must have been something going on with House if Cameron was asking him about the rumor. Don't get him wrong, he knew people were speculating about it for years, but not enough to start a rumor around the hospital.

"I mean… is he acting different because of it?"

"Subtly, but yeah."

Wilson knew that if he asked about what House was doing, it'd be suspicious. Instead, he simply answered Cameron's question.

"Well, we're not dating. Simple as that."

"Kay... thanks."

Obviously feeling humiliated, Cameron walked back where she came around the corner and House was further down the hall so he was out of view, holding a $10 bill in his fingers. After the dominatrix adulterer, he decided to check on Cameron's progress. The young immunologist let out a huff as she reached her superior.

"Pupil dilation." She said as she grabbed for the money.

However, that wasn't the information House wanted, so he held the money back. Pupil dilation wasn't all the data.

"Anything else?" House asked with a raised eyebrow.

Cameron rolled her eyes.

"He... started blushing a bit, and acted anxious."

House smirked in response and handed her the money.

"Wasn't so hard, was it?"

She merely shook her head at him as she walked away. Chase and Foreman must have talked her into taking the deal, but she wasn't too happy about it. Pushing that aside, House made his way over to Wilson, who seemed to be a bit pink. He was also paying a bit _too much_ attention to a patient's chart.

"What's got you so red?"

Wilson startled at the sudden appearance of House beside him. He must have been so focused on looking less flustered that he hadn't notice the diagnostician walk up. House probably knew something was up, but to save his dignity in front of the nursing staff, he decided to lie.

"Nothing important."

House merely nodded for effect.

"Either it's about a hot blonde in a short skirt... or you heard about that new rumor going around."

Wilson scoffed. Of course something like this wouldn't get past House, it never would. He'd either be told by one of his fellows about it, or he'd overhear one of the nurses talk about it. He'd just know no matter what.

"You heard about it too?" He asked as he started walking toward his office, and House followed.

"Well, when you find out your _special friend_ is being talked about-."

"Okay, will you cut the 'special friend' crap, House?" Wilson said as he stopped in his tracks. "What happened a few days was just a fluke, alright? So drop it."

And so the oncologist walked as fast as he could to his office without House following. He knew that House figured out what happened in the bathroom, but he was not going to let the man use it against him.

Once Wilson was firmly out of view, House noticed that a few nurses and residents were whispering to each other. It seemed that he needed to come up with a new task for Foreman since that little outburst did all the work for them.

Unfortunately, the experiment (at least on the team's part) needed to be paused for a few days due to the teenage heart transplant case, but then there were a few days free. Operation 'Woo Wilson' could recommence. Apparently it didn't matter that they were on a case because that little talk they had in the hallway had spread like wildfire, and escalated in quality. Now the rumor was that they had slept together last week, which was definitely better.

Soon Wilson was heading back to the apartment after a long day at the hospital. He was just happy to relax since he had a surgery earlier that day that took ten hours. By the time he returned, House was on the couch watching a movie with a bowl of popcorn. Terminator 2, kind of odd, but Wilson was not about to question it. He shed his coat and shoes, put his suitcase down next to the coffee table, and took a seat next to his friend.

"How far in are you?" He asked.

House made an exaggerated sputtering sound at that question. How could Wilson not know that there was a major innuendo in that?

"Depends, hand or dick?" He remarked.

Wilson merely rolled his eyes because obviously his request to drop the whole incident was being ignored.

"You know what I mean."

"Just getting to the part where the T-1,000 chases the kid throughout town. Guy's got amazing _stamina_."

 _When will he fucking drop it!?_ Why couldn't Wilson just go one day without House making these goddamn jokes? Not to mention the rumors that were - wait… did House have something to do with those rumors? It could have been a coincidence, or it might have been another convoluted scheme to accomplish God knew what.

House knew that Wilson would be asking any second now about the rumors. He had a backup plan… and that was Chase. His task was to take the blame for starting the rumors therefore throwing off suspicion. However, now he had extra ammunition with the nurses overhearing their conversation in the hallway.

"House… did you have anything to do with those rumors?"

Obviously House would need to be convincing rather than snarky. Wilson could see snark as a subtle confirmation that he started the rumor (which was half true, but half the nurses' gossip).

"Nope." He answered simply. "I just think it's funny."

Wilson simply nodded in response and continued to watch the movie. He considered explaininh why Julie started having the affair. It was kind of ironic considering what was happening now, and there was obviously sexual tension between him and House, so maybe it would tip the diagnostician off about what he felt.

"You know… Julie thought that I was cheating on her when she kicked me out." He said.

"Exactly what I thought." House remarked.

"But she thought I was having an affair with one of my friends. Said that her friends had warned her not to date me because I was interested in someone else in particular."

"So she thought you were sleeping with another woman?"

"Actually, you."

That stopped House in his tracks. It was probably because they spent a lot of time together, it couldn't have been because she knew about their feelings… could it? Most of Wilson's exes were incredibly dull, especially Bonnie.

"Fair enough assumption." House commented as ate some popcorn. "Though she wouldn't be angry about it or believe it if her suspicions didn't have merit."

Wilson was sure that he flinched at that statement. He knew House wanted him to say it, but he didn't know if he could without feeling like an idiot. He shouldn't have felt like an idiot since the whole… _masturbation_ thing happened last week, yet he couldn't make the embarrassment go away. He just needed to go with his gut, and his gut was telling him to say what he felt.

Fuck it, he would just say it.

"There's _always_ been merit, House." The oncologist confessed. "I just never said anything."

"Same here."

The two looked at each other in silence. Each were just taking in the other's reaction, waiting for something to happen. Despite the action movie in the background, the emotion was just engulfing the room. The simple look on each of their faces spoke of deep longing, lasting decades and in between relationships. Having it finally out in the open… it felt good.

Finally, Wilson asked,

"So… what do we do about this?"

House didn't exactly know what to do. This wasn't a moment to just start referring to themselves as lovers or kiss. He may have been a selfish bastard, but he knew that this was new for both of them, so no decisions could be made now. Not to mention there was a grand finale he had planned for the experiment that was too good to throw away.

"Mull it over." House answered simply. "See how we feel about having it out in the open and figure out what to do from there."

Wilson thought that was very generous of House. In all the years he had known him, Wilson would've thought that they'd move onto kissing and cuddling, but this was… different. Instead of talking further, he merely nodded and they continued to watch the movie in silence. Eventually it got late, the two did their nightly routines, and went to sleep in their respective areas.


End file.
